Donated by Olwyn Green in 1994 and 2002.
Open with exceptions. Series 1 restricted.
Copyright of materials described in this guide is governed by copyright law in Australia. For further information contact the Curator of Private Records, Research Centre.
Papers of Charles and Olwyn Green, AWM PR00466.
Charles Hercules Green was born on 26 December 1919 in Grafton, New
South Wales, the second child of Hercules John Green and his wife Bertha. He
was educated at Swan Creek Public and Grafton High School and began working on
his father's farm when he was thirteen years old.
In October 1936 he
enlisted in 41 Battalion Militia and was promoted to sergeant and lieutenant in
1938 and 1939 respectively.
In October 1939, Charles was seconded to
the Australian Imperial Force and joined 2/2 Battalion. From February 1940 he
was based in the Middle East and his first experience of battle was at the
Pinios Gorge, Greece in April 1941. During the retreat, Charles evaded capture
and escaped through the Aegean islands and Turkey before reaching Palestine in
May 1941 where he met Allied Forces.
In August 1941, 2/2 Battalion
spent time doing garrison duty in Syria and later Ceylon (Sri Lanka), returning to
Australia in 1942. Green had injured his foot and become ill with typhoid in
Sri Lanka, so he did not contribute to the New Guinea campaign. He was promoted
to substantive major in September and posted in December as an instructor to
the First Army's Junior Tactical School in Southport, Queensland. On 30 January
1943 he married Edna 'Olwyn' Warner in St Paul's Anglican Church,
Ulamurra.
In July 1943 Green was selected as second in command of the
2/2nd Battalion under Lieutenant Colonel A G Cameron. In December 1944 the unit
was sent to New Guinea where in March 1945 Green was promoted to
lieutenant-colonel and given command of the 2/11 Battalion. He was only
twenty-five years old and possibly the youngest officer to command an
Australian battalion during the Second World War.
From May-July 1945
the 2/11 Battalion were involved in the attack on Wewak and in operations
around Boram from which Green was awarded the Distinguished Service
Order
Green returned to Australia in November 1945 but did not find
the transition to civilian life an easy one and in January 1949 he joined the
Permanent Military Forces. When the Australian government committed 3
Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment to the conflict in Korea, Green, due to
his distinguished service in the Second World War, was selected to command it.
He was sent to Japan on 8 September 1950.
His intelligence officer
Lieutenant (later Lieutenant-Colonel) A Argen described him as
"a tall,
dark, sinewy man with the bearing and unhurried deliberateness one usually
associated with men of the land. Pressure never seemed to bother him. He had a
fine touch and the presence of a natural leader. His command in Korea was
always firm and sure."
The battalion moved to the Republic of (South)
Korea that month and 3RAR joined the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade. They
advanced north, defeating enemy forces at Yongju, 22 October, Pakch'on, 25-26
October and at Chongju on 28 October. On 29 October the Battalion withstood a
North Korean counter-attack and occupied positions on a ridge overlooking the
Talch'on River. At 6.10pm six shells hit the battalion headquarters area. The
headquarters was protected by being situated on the reverse slope of a hill
overlooking the river, however the sixth shell cleared the crest and hit a
tree, exploding close to Green's tent. Asleep on a stretcher, he was badly
wounded in the stomach by a shell fragment. Green was taken by ambulance to the
surgical hospital at Angu but died at 8pm on 1 November 1950 and buried in the
United Nations Memorial Cemetery, Pusan, South Korea, survived by his wife and
daughter. In 1951 the United States awarded him the Silver Star for
bravery.
Olwyn Green was born on 21 September 1923 at the Sydney
suburb of Lidcombe and grew up in Ulmarra, New South Wales. Her father was a
petty officer with the Royal Australian Navy and a veteran of the First World
War. Olwyn was educated at Ulmarra Public School and attended Grafton High
School for two years. She left school at thirteen to work in the family
newsagency. In 1940, after the outbreak of the Second World War, Olwyn went to
work at the local Pioneer Dairy Company and managed the General Store there.
After the death of her husband in 1950, Olwyn obtained a Bachelor of Art degree
from the University of Sydney in 1958. From 1960 until 1977 she worked as an
English teacher at the Department of Technical Education in Meadowbank,
eventually being promoted to Senior Head Teacher. After her retirement in 1979,
Olwyn wrote a biography of her husband,
References:
The papers of Charles and Olwyn Green comprise records relating to
Charles' service in the Second World War and Korea. These include letters
exchanged between Charles and Olwyn from 1943-1950; letters of condolence after
Charles' death in November 1950 and photograph albums documenting the the
movements of 2/2 Battalion in Palestine, Greece, Sri Lanka and New Guinea.
Throughout the 1980s Olwyn researched and wrote a book about her relationship
with Charles and his career with the AIF and 3 RAR, called
Olwyn Green's Korean
collection began as research for a post-graduate degree thesis entitled 'The
Anzac Tradition in a new war in a new army'. Olwyn withdrew her candidature due
to illness and began to concentrate instead on collecting testimonies of
soldiers with the support of the Australia Korea Foundation. She focused on
gathering information from men of 1RAR, 2RAR and the Royal Australian Air Force
(RAAF). Each soldier's story is contained in a file comprising of service
records, correspondence and photographs.